Snow Sports New Zealand is pleased to announce that Pete Sanford has been appointed as the Snow Sports NZ High Performance Director.
Pete comes to Snow Sports NZ after seven and a half years as the New Zealand Cricket Head of High Performance Development. Based in Christchurch, Pete will have a regular presence in the Snow Sports NZ Office in Wānaka and at our Northern Hemisphere bases during the NZ summer months.
Nic Cavanagh, Snow Sports NZ CEO said, "I am thrilled to have Pete join our team. After an extensive global search I am thrilled that the top candidate is somebody with extensive experience both within the New Zealand High Performance system and in Alpine Ski Racing. With this knowledge and experience, both in the snow sports high performance space and across other sports, Pete will be a fantastic addition to our team as we build towards Milano Cortina 2026."
Pete explained, "As the Snow Sports NZ High Performance Director I look forward to supporting the people and the programmes to fulfil their potential, resulting in meaningful performances for the snow sports community and the wider NZ sporting system."
No stranger to snow, Pete grew up skiing on the slopes of Coronet Peak with his family and friends from the Southland Ski Club. At age 12 he got his first taste of alpine ski racing, which became a huge part of his life through until his early twenties.
After studying psychology at university, Pete returned to the world of alpine ski racing and worked for Ski Racing New Zealand as a development coach. Pete was an assistant alpine coach for the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics.
Later in 2010, Pete began work as a Mental Skills Coach at High Performance Sport New Zealand. For three years Pete worked as the Mental Skills Coach for BikeNZ and TriNZ, through the 2012 London Olympic Games.
At the end of 2012, Pete returned to winter sport as the Snow Sports New Zealand Mental Skills Coach, working through the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and Paralympics (pictured on the right with Corey Peters at the Sochi Winter Paralympic Games).
We look forward to having Pete join the Snow Sports NZ team officially on the 26th of September 2022.
21 months ago